Both Del Mar and Encinitas are advancing plans for affordable housing projects and Vista is pursuing a cannabis equity program, the first of its kind in North County.
Here’s a roundup of the latest happenings in North County.
Affordable Housing at the Fairgrounds
The Del Mar City Council last week took the first official step toward building affordable housing on the Del Mar Fairgrounds.
City leaders approved a negotiating agreement with the 22nd District Agricultural Association, which operates the Del Mar Fairgrounds, to consider an affordable housing project on the Fairgrounds property.
First, some background: The city of Del Mar is banking on a proposed affordable housing project on the Del Mar Fairgrounds property to fulfill its state-mandated affordable housing requirements.
Del Mar has to make way for 113 affordable housing units to meet its Housing Element goals. A Housing Element is a state-required plan outlining how a city can accommodate enough new housing to meet its population’s needs.
Because the Fairgrounds is a state-owned entity, its land does not belong to the city of Del Mar, it belongs to the state. So, for the city to build on that land, it must lease it from the Fairgrounds.
The city has been working with the 22nd District Agricultural Association for more than a year to figure out if and how an affordable housing project could move forward.
What this means: The negotiating agreement does not mean the city and the Fairgrounds have decided on a project location or what the project would look like, but it is a step in that direction.
It authorizes Del Mar City Manager Ashley Jones to negotiate with the Fairgrounds board for the lease of one-to-two acres for the construction of at least 61 units of affordable housing. If they reach an agreement, the city would lease the property for up to 55 years.
The Fairgrounds property is around 340 acres of land, and about 80 percent of that land is inside Del Mar’s boundaries.
The agreement also lays out a process and schedule for the selection of a project site and authorizes feasibility studies and other procedures that go into finding the right site, according to a city staff report.
Keep in mind: The city and the Fairgrounds may never come to an agreement, in which case the project would not move forward.
But Del Mar’s Housing Element requires that the city have a plan and make progress toward that plan.
City staff say the agreement shows this.
The agreement starts on April 15 and lasts for two years unless both parties agree to extend it.
Also: Del Mar hasn’t made any progress so far on the 113 affordable units the state has required it to make way for.
Encinitas Needs Affordable Housing, Too
Encinitas is considering a 100 percent affordable housing project on one of its city-owned sites located at 634 Quail Gardens Drive, also known as L7.
Some background: Last year, I wrote about how Encinitas hasn’t delivered all of the affordable housing units it promised in its Housing Element, and the city was in danger of triggering the state’s No Net Loss law. This law says the assumptions cities make in their Housing Elements must reflect what gets built.
And it’s likely because of poor planning.
Encinitas has to make way for 838 low-income units, according to its approved Housing Element.
When the city crafted its Housing Element, it identified 15 sites, or parcels of land it deemed available and suitable for residential development. Those sites would offer affordable housing.
But when the city first selected the 15 sites it assumed all the units on those sites would house low-income residents.
Yet none of the 15 projects have been 100 percent affordable so far.
Inclusionary housing policies require developers to set aside a certain number of units as low-income. Cities implement these policies to ensure that affordable housing units are produced along with market-rate units.
In Encinitas, the inclusionary housing requirement is 15 percent for very low-income and 20 percent for low-income units.
Because developers aren’t obligated to create more affordable housing than the policy requires, the sites approved so far have significantly fallen short of 100 percent affordability.
Looking ahead: For this reason, the city had to then identify more sites to reach its state-mandated affordable housing goals. That’s where this L7 project comes in.
Last month, the City Council hired a consultant to do a financial study on a recommendation to put 15 homes and up to 30 accessory dwelling units on the property, which would be entirely set aside for lower income households.
It’s still in its early stages, but if this project moves forward, it could help the city close its affordable housing deficit.
Cannabis Equity in Vista
In Vista, city leaders are pursuing a cannabis equity program that will be the first of its kind in North County.
The City Council recently heard results from a cannabis equity study completed over the last eight months by a consulting group.
The study found that Black people were disproportionately impacted by cannabis-related arrests in Vista from 2014 to 2023. Cannabis-related arrests were also concentrated in an area of Vista with a high concentration of non-White and low-income residents.
The study made recommendations for the city as it moves forward such as setting aside a specific number of cannabis business permits for candidates with a cannabis conviction or arrest history, low-income individuals and residents of Vista.
It also suggested that city leaders take measures to limit financial, technical and criminal obstacles to the industry like a loan or grant program, application fee waivers, application assistance, training curriculums and more.
Looking ahead: City staff will explore what the equity program could look like and will eventually bring plans back to the City Council.
In Other News
- ICYMI: Leaders of Interfaith Community Services, the largest homeless services provider in Escondido, are worried that recent actions by city officials and the Escondido Police Department could jeopardize future operations of two of their locations. (Voice of San Diego)
- Vista’s new homeless shelter, called the Buena Creek Navigation Center, has officially opened its doors. It provides beds for 48 clients and serves Vista and Encinitas residents. (Union-Tribune) Related: I’ve previously written about how the new shelter came to be. Read that here.
- Oceanside received a $451,008 state grant to expand a program that collects still-fresh, unsold food from grocery stores and other providers and redistributes it as meals for people in need. (Union-Tribune)
- Full passenger rail services between San Diego and Orange County are expected to resume in early April. (KPBS)